WASHINGTON, July 11 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. deficit in trade with South Korea has continued to jump since their free trade agreement went into effect in March, according to U.S. government data released Wednesday.

The U.S. imported $5.4 billion in goods from South Korea in May, a 5.2-percent increase from the same period last year, the Commerce Department said.

Exports to South Korea totaled $3.4 billion, down 6.4 percent from the previous month and 11 percent from May in 2011, it added.

The U.S. deficit in the bilateral trade recorded $2 billion in May, up 13 percent from $1.7 billion in April and 53.5 percent from $1.3 billion a year before, the statistics showed.